A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post called Upon Closer Look, where I dispelled some common mistaken assumptions people make about who they are and how to find success in this life. My gears have continued turning on this subject, so today I’m sharing two more incorrect suppositions to add to the three I have previously written about. I would love for you to leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.
4. Most of humanity incorrectly believe that the scriptures are a religious book of regulations and compliance full of overbearing, onerous rules and requirements that no one can actually live by on the Earth today. In reality, the scriptures are the values, the principles, and the established precedents by which we agree to govern ourselves. The scriptures are our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our Magna Carta and our Operating Agreement all rolled into one. The scriptures are steadfast, they are sure, and they are eternal. They point us to our eternity and to our eternalness. We can and we must trust our lives to their provisions. The scriptures are not lifeless words written by ancient men that are not relevant to our lives today. They are full of power and they are alive. The Holy Spirit God inspired and prompted men to record His Words, not theirs, so that those of us who came after them would have access to His revelation through them, and everyone would know of His amazing plans for each of humanity. The scriptures provide each of us with the knowledge and the facts about everything. We learn how to apply this knowledge to our lives personally and they become wisdom for us. From them we gain understanding of how all of humanity is to be impacted by the wisdom that we personally gain from their knowledge.
12 For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the [a]breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
12 For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy,[a] and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword.[b] It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone[c] and marrow meet![d] It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts.
Hebrews 4:12, The Passion Translation
5. Our life on the Earth and in time is not all there is to us. We, the real us, are eternal and we must function and operate from the position of our eternalness. We have no beginning and we have no ending. Because He is, we are. Our body, our Earth suit, who we appear to be while we are on this planet and in time, does have a beginning date, and an ending date. Our body is temporary. We, the real us, the eternal us, did not begin here on this planet, and we will not end here.
It is not possible for humanity to understand what real success is for them personally and for humanity collectively, now and forever, without their knowing who they are, where they came from, why they are here, how we are to live while we are in time (moral law). It is also important and very necessary for us to know and for us to understand what happens to our spirit, the eternal us, when our body dies and our spirit departs time and the earth. Without this awareness and without this understanding, and without our operating with this knowledge and from this perspective, real success is not possible. Our forever success is designed and developed by our choices and by our actions while we are in time.
The importance of understanding the three components of our eternity and correctly engaging each one effectively is immeasurable and inescapable. We cannot live and we cannot operate successfully in any of the components of our eternity without understanding the impact that each component has on our living and on our outcomes. In the here and the now component of our eternity, we receive our guidance for being successful in everything that we are and in everything that we do, from the directions, the purpose and from the understanding and the application of our giftings, our talents and our abilities that we are given in our before-here. In this life, our here and our now, there will be no peace, no contentment and no fulfilling sense of accomplishment without our following the directions and the inspiration that we have received in the before-here component of our eternity.
It is not our mission on the Earth to manufacture or to fabricate the reason for our being and the why we are here. We are to lean into our relationship with our Creator and our God, and to follow the plan that He has prepared ahead of time for us in our before here, before we were born.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy],
Ecclesiastes 3:11 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
10 For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), [a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].
Ephesians 2:10 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
16 You saw who you created me to be before I became me![a]
Psalm 139:16, The Passion Translation
We must take the time to examine, to review and to research our beliefs. We cannot just embrace what we are told, believe what we hear and accept what someone says, no matter who they are. We are designed with the ability to look beyond the rhetoric and to examine and to determine the accurate premise for our beliefs. We are provided with a living, breathing Constitution — the scriptures which are steadfast, they are sure, and they are eternal. We can and we must build our beliefs on their foundations. We can trust our life in all of the components of our eternity to their provisions. They do not change.
Thank you Charlie! As I have been reading your blogs for the past year, I have been challenged to think hard and deep about our eternalness. I have been intimately reminded to be in Him, with Him, in a living, breathing relationship. Thanks for the continuing thoughts – we need to continue to push this reminder; as we are not just here for earth-success, but for all time and eternity to see God our Father and to live in Heaven with Him.
Thanks Doug. Eternalness is such a critical topic that many simply aren’t even aware of. I am glad you are operating with the correct understanding and wisdom regarding Eternity. And I totally agree with you statement — we are not just here for earth-success. We are here for eternal success! Blessings to you.
Very good word. A greater need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the working out our salvation of our souls.
Thank you Bernie. Glad to hear from you again. Blessings.